Salzburg secure double; Leipzig draw Mainz

RB Salzburg

Austrian Cup

The week started out fabulous for Salzburg. They secured their 6th Austrian cup, after falling short the previous year in the finals against Sturm Graz, defeating Rapid Wien with a scoreline of 2-0.

Patrick Farkas opened the scoring in the 37th minute, and Moanes Dabbur doubled the lead in the 54th minute. That’s despite the team going down to 10 men after Patrick Farkas got a second yellow card in the 82nd minute. Salzburg managed to keep it together and kept the clean sheet.

Salzburg head coach Marco Rose rightly celebrated the victory.

“We rose to a cup fight today. That’s what we planned to do, and the boys went about it well. It was a difficult and even encounter to being with. If you can go two up, that helps you of course. We battled right to the end and we are now absolutely delighted. I am pleased for the club, the fans and the team to win the cup. We have worked hard for it.”

Austrian Bundesliga Champions

Starting with their League Championship in 2014, Salzburg has won the Austrian Bundesliga six times in a row, earning them a Star above the crest. The team won 2 – 1 against FK Austria Wien, and did so by clawing their way to victory after Austria Wien got a lead late into the match. Xaver Schlager goal in the 81st minute and Hannes Wolf’s in the 86th would give Salzburg the surge to push pass Austria Wien.

Marco Rose was jubilant about the victory, happy for both the club and the fans.

“We were determined to be champions today, but Austria were never going to make that easy for us. We played with some fresh players today, and we started with a squad we had complete confidence in. You saw that we needed a few minutes to get in gear. We played decently today and the chances our opponents got came from our own mistakes. We have big aims at this club that we measure ourselves against every year. If you can win a title together that then makes you incredibly proud.”

Salzburg won the league with three games remaining. Marco Rose leaves the club with a Round of 16 Europa Cup run, and two cups to show for it. After the season is over, ex-New York Red Bulls Head Coach Jesse Marsch will be taking over.

Salzburg takes on LASK Linz on Sunday the 12th, but if Salzburg go full force or close out the season using reserves remains to be seen.

RB Leipzig

Leipzig continued undefeated in 14 games, but they allowed a 3 – 1 lead over Mainz turn into a draw, and walk away with only a point. A brace for Lukas Klostermann in the 20th and 32nd minute, and a goal for Timo Werner in the 49th minute were all Leipzig could get.

Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick lamented at lost opportunities and defensive errors that led to the draw.

“I’m not at all pleased with the result, but I’m happy with how the team played, especially up front.
We could have scored six, but we didn’t defend tightly enough. Nonetheless, I’m very pleased with how my team attacked.”

Defender Willi Orban see’s it as a wake up call for the team.

“When you’re leading 3-1, you’ve got to see it home. The goals we conceded were basic – it’s very annoying. It’s a wake-up call: we’ve got to do everything we can to defend our goal.”

Leipzig face first place FC Bayern Munich on Saturday the 11th. The match serves as a preview of the DFB-Pokal cup final May 25th. Leipzig secured a guaranteed third place Bundesliga finish, but the right results could climb as high as second place.